Last fall, over several beers, we asked a jazzbo friend of ours for a Top Ten list of the essential jazz albums. The jazz man pretty much refused to cooperate, but we ended up with a good article out of the deal.

To further prove that jazz aficionados are unwilling to unsheathe their pruning shears, David Remnick compiles his list of 100 Essential Jazz Albums for the New Yorker:

These hundred titles are meant to provide a broad sampling of jazz classics and wonders across the music’s century-long history. Early New Orleans jazz, swing, bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, hard bop, free jazz, third stream, and fusion are all represented, though not equally. We have tried not to overdo it with expensive boxed sets and obscure imports; sometimes it couldn’t be helped. We have also tried to strike a balance between healthy samplings of the innovative giants (Armstrong, Ellington, Parker, Davis, Coltrane, etc.) and the greater range of talents and performances.

Whatever, dude. Just tell us what we need to buy… How long until this whole thing appears as one giant multi-gigabyte torrent on the Pirate Bay? Shit, it’s probably already there.

Via lhb.